No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

https://beecityusa.org/no-mow-may/

by xarthna • 3 years ago

77 120 3 years ago

beecityusa.org

0zemp2c• 3 years ago

Lots of people use landscaping services

Most services want you on a weekly schedule because they make more money. Close-cut lawns are thirstier.

It can take effort to find services that will only come twice a month but they are out there.

Lawns aren't just ornamental for many...if you are on septic, the lawn is helping to recycle septic discharge, and trees would root too deep and break the lines.

lukas0993• 3 years ago

I think tall grasses would filter a lot more than turfgrass.

lukas0993• 3 years ago

And native grasses would support more pollinators.

chomp• 3 years ago

We plant only Texas native plants in our garden. Bee balm, honeysuckle, Texas lantana, beautyberry, and turk’s cap to name a few. We get so many bumblebees and other pollinators in the late months of spring. Also (imo) looks way nicer than the generic “HOA plant” lawns around us.

kelnos• 3 years ago

residents of Appleton, Wisconsin [...] convinced their City Council to suspend their weed ordinance for the month of May.

This reminds me that there are many municipalities and homeowners' associations that essentially require you to mow your lawn weekly or bi-weekly, lest your grass gets too long and they fine you, because... reasons.

It's really gross that we allow people to be such busybodies.

thatfrenchguy• 3 years ago

Never really understood why people have lawns in the first place, no-one ever sits on them. Really shocked me when I moved to the US, people value having backyards and just don't spend time there (yeah I'm watching you commenting down on how much you use it and challenge you to actual journal how much time your family spends in there)

throwaway894345• 3 years ago

We use our yard every nice day. Technically we use it every day because our dog has to go to the bathroom somewhere and it’s nice just to let him in the back yard, but most days we play outside with him and/or read and/or work outside. Coming from the suffocating city, it has been really nice to have just a bit of private green space.

madoublet2• 3 years ago

Looks nice. Soft to walk on. Great for kids and pets. Fairly inexpensive to maintain. Never really understood why people don't like lawns TBH.

dgacmu2• 3 years ago

I'm probably not normal. We use it all the time. Probably helps that we have a playset and a trampoline and a garden back there - we were in the yard for several hours today (adults gardening, kids and their friend on trampoline). Of course, we've also eliminated half of the grass that used to be here in favor of more garden + perennial shrub/flower space, and I'd like to eliminate more over time as the kids get older, and we're the weirdos who compost and make our own mulch for the yard, etc.

kQq9oHeAz6wLLS• 3 years ago

That's the beauty of freedom (which France helped us gain) - I don't really need to justify my yard usage to you.

But I'll give you one anyway - it's a nice buffer between me and my stupid neighbors.

asow924• 3 years ago

To release us of our ennui, we mow and landscape our lawns. While many disagree, to others it's a status symbol and key part of the American dream. This is just how it's been since victorian times in the US.

I live in upstate NY, where grass grows more or less on its own. You can have a lush lawn here without weeding or watering if that's your choice.

hanszarkov• 3 years ago

dogs, camping out-at-home, and sledding with kids, baseball/catch. I practice my golf swing in the summer, family fun

camhart2• 3 years ago

We never sit on our lawn. But we play soccer on it. Have water gun fights on it. Let the kids run through the sprinklers on it, etc.

cmrdporcupine2• 3 years ago

Unless you live in an arid area... if it's not grass ... something else is growing there. Something usually far more labour-intensive to maintain.

If humans displace natural grazing animals, something has to replace them. A lawnmower.

I live on 6 acres. Half of it I leave wooded. I have a small hobby vineyard. And the house and garage. The rest, well, it has to be mowed. Because I don't have sheep or goats to do it for me.

Even when I lived in Toronto on a 25'x100' property, I had to mow almost weekly to keep weeds down.

Yes, the lawn thing is a bit silly. But people who act like a native plant or whatever garden or landscaping is less labour intensive are fooling themselves. I've tried both. Around here, it'll fill with burrs and dandelions and pigweed and ticks and whatever in no time at all.

pdntspa• 3 years ago

The dog (a german shepherd) uses the backyard to run literally all day long. She'd go crazy cooped up in the house. We both use it for fetch all the time. I use it to smoke since I can't do so in the house. The shade from the big tree in the center is nice for reading. Pulling weeds (they got really thick and stalky this year) and leveling the ground around the holes the dog digs helps keep me in shape. It's a nice background for a twitch show I've been thinking of doing. It's a nice space for parties.

But yeah fuck off with the judging. I like space and I like living in the city.

munificent2• 3 years ago

no-one ever sits on them.

Doing stuff on your lawn is only part of its function. Much of the value it provides, arguably most of the value is a combination of:

1. More distance and acoustic isolation from neighbors. A larger property with a house in the middle of it separated from others by space means you hear your neighbors less and they hear you less. It makes your home a little more of a sanctuary.

2. A better view out the window. Windows and the views they afford are a critical part of the indoor experience. They provide a connection to a larger space so that the house doesn't feel claustrophobic or too artificial. A window that opens onto a calm expanse of green can make the house feel more spacious and tranquil.

Now, of course, those benefits have to be weighed against the trade-offs. But, in general, people are not completely stupid and if millions of them have lawns, it's probably at least somewhat because they actually like having lawns and aren't mindless sheep manipulated by culture and nefarious HOA laws into having them.

bombcar• 3 years ago

So lawns are literally natural in some parts of the country; you can grind the land down to dirt and it'll grow a grass and become a meadow if you do nothing; if you mow it it'll be a lawn.

Those areas were instrumental in the "American Dream"-style imagery so the rest of the country imitated it, even though it's absolutely insane in some places.

Also the amount yards are used varies greatly by area, and by family size.

Sir_Vic_Smasher• 3 years ago

I believe lawns came to the US after WWII with the returning GIs. The idea of lawns began with the French aristocracy a few hundred years ago, pre-industrialized agrarian society. The lawn and heavily manicured garden was a way to show off how rich you were. “Look at me. I’m so rich that not only can I afford to take a portion of my land and not use it to grow a crop or pasture livestock but I can afford to pay people to just grow useless grass and flowers in symmetrically shaped gardens and plant trees that get haircuts into the shapes of spheres and cones”.

Yes, I participate in no mow May. And I know my golf course fairway yard neighbors judge me. Especially with all the dandelions and clover patches I let go un-mowed all year long.

zikduruqe• 3 years ago

Never really understood why people have lawns in the first place

It is really dumb that we spend so much time, energy and costs on something that is only visual. Imagine if people spend the same amounts on something that produced food.

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-stupid-is-our-obsession...

pfannkuchen• 3 years ago

I’ve never seen this aspect discussed, but a lawn does look like a whole lot of baby wheat, aka food in the near future. Any chance agrarian peoples developed an instinct to consider baby grain specifically attractive and perhaps comforting?

cafard• 3 years ago

I am too old for most of the activities I will list, but in my childhood our lawn (we had a double lot) served for

  kickball
  whiffle ball
  touch football
  tag
  hide-and-go-seek
  "Mother, may I?"
  throwing baseballs, softballs, footballs
  the neighbor's teenage son practicing his golf swing with a plastic ball

guepe• 3 years ago

There is a strong advantage to regular mowing in my area (new england): way less risk of ticks. It's a real problem a'd with kids that spends time outside, ticks can be real scary. I got a few bites on myself and once on a kid, thankfully without side effects.

What is impact of more natural landscaping wrt ticks in 'ew England?

giantg2• 3 years ago

Similar for mosquitoes in FL

Auracle2• 3 years ago

It’s funny to me how people have such crazy reactions to ticks. Don’t get me wrong, they can carry some scary stuff - but a few bites? I get a few bites a month during the spring and early summer, and probably take off 10x that amount before they attach. Some are deer ticks. I’ve heard of people taking ticks that were attached to the doctor.

I guess my point is chances are you’ll be fine. Do what you can to prevent bites but don’t freak out about them.

helen___keller• 3 years ago

Tangential but have you considered growing food? Can use up a good amount of backyard space that would otherwise just be grass, add some raised planters and such, and create an enriching activity for the family plus get ultra fresh veggies you might otherwise never have a chance to eat.

This also gives you an opportunity to explore varieties and cultivars that don’t stay fresh for long (no commercial viability) but are delicious when picked fresh

You can also look into plants that often aren’t commonly available just due to being obscure. Kiwi berry, beach plum, etc

Not for everyone, of course. But it can be a great way to make use of a large suburban property if you aren’t attached to the grassy field look.

lm28469• 3 years ago

way less risk of ticks

That's only a side effect of "way less life" though

s1artibartfast• 3 years ago

Freedom of choice and mutual consent. Everyone owning a house in a HOA signed on the dotted line.

Not for me, but some people hate long grass and are willing to waive their property rights so they don't have to see it.

I'm glad there is an outlet where they can do their own thing without involving me.

The fact that this sometimes becomes a municipality issue is a major failing.

hgsgm3• 3 years ago

HOA doesn't have an opt-out, and does have a monopoly on homes within a geographical area. And often nearby areas have HOAs also. And HOAs can be kept secret from home buyers until after they sign a purchase contract. So meaningful consent is often absent.

adriand3• 3 years ago

I think having property standards is an important part of ensuring that people keep up their properties and by extension, maintain (and ideally beautify) their neighbourhoods. I can see how someone who puts the time and effort into creating an alternative to a lawn (such as a garden featuring wild species) may take issue with an ordnance that doesn't take into account alternatives to a traditional lawn, but when people don't maintain their properties and their yards are full of tall grass and weeds, or worse, tall grass, weeds, trash and dog shit (it all kind of goes together), it's unsightly.

hgsgm3• 3 years ago

Why would trash and dog feces go together with a meadow?

The trash is obviously a problem, which can be addressed directly.

mattnewton• 3 years ago

it's unsightly.

Personally I think the burden of unsightly-ness is usually far overblown. I just don’t think it’s that big of a deal if my neighbors don’t maintain their lawn as long as it doesn’t spill into mine.

NoZebra120vClip• 3 years ago

I would definitely take issue with ordnance on my lawn. I wouldn't want my children blown to bits by accident.

cmh89• 3 years ago

I think having property standards is an important part of ensuring that people keep up their properties and by extension, maintain (and ideally beautify) their neighbourhoods.

Most places I've seen that have strict property standards end up being ugly swaths of green lawn with absolutely nothing pretty growing.

acapybara• 3 years ago

There's a big assumption persisting throughout this thread which I will challenge.

That is: that HOA rules and enforcement results in better-maintained properties.

What I have observed as a near-universal property of neighborhoods is that there are good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods. This always correlates with the quality of the population of the surrounding area, and sometimes (but not always) correlates with its socioeconomic status and property vales.

Anecdotally, where I have seen the most overgrown grass, dogshit, and intra-community hostility, there typically is a HOA present. While one could argue that these communities have an insufficient level of rule enforcement, this is contrary to the reality where some neighbors are constantly surveiling and reporting others and compliance notices and warnings are sent out regularly.

The best neighborhoods, as measured by low crime, well-maintained properties, sense of community, and so-on, are often those without an HOA at all. They tend to be expensive, but aren't necessarily so. Here, a compliance notice or warning is unheard of. Generally, neighbors know and help one another and there is a broad, unspoken social contract concerning the way things ought to be. People do the right thing because they know they ought to, not because someone is holding a big stick over their head.

For maximizing both quality-of-life and net worth, it's therefore a good idea to target these neighborhoods as a primary residence, even if it means allocating significantly more capital to acquire the asset. Going hand-in-hand with this, it is also inherently a good idea to uphold the social contracts and take care of one's own property, as interests are aligned throughout the community.

TheSpiceIsLife2• 3 years ago

Long grass encourages insects which encourages rodents which encourages snakes.

Also, grassses tend not to survive the summers here, so there's an increased fire risk which is probably not then covered by my insurance policy as it would arguably be negligence.

I left my back yard go one spring, my partner wouldn't go out there sue to snake risk, grass was over 5ft. It's now back to something approximating the standards implied by the surrounding houses.

Launceston, Tasmania.

WheatMillington• 3 years ago

HoA areas are voluntary, you don't have to live in them. I wish we had that kind of thing in New Zealand that I could voluntarily buy into. I don't see anything wrong with having high standards where you live.

pavon• 3 years ago

For most of the west coast it is only voluntary if you are in the 1% who are rich enough to be selective about housing. The rest are lucky to find someplace they can afford that is within reasonable distance to their jobs at all, and all new development is covered by HOAs so the already small percentage of housing not covered by HOA decreases every year.

programmarchy• 3 years ago

Main problem I have with long grass is that it seems to attract more mosquitoes. I’d actually prefer xeriscaping but my HOA doesn’t allow it.

madoublet2• 3 years ago

Also impractical simply b/c non-commercial mowers cannot cut long grass.

defrost• 3 years ago

Problem solved, Australian xeriscaping has no grass, long or short, to be cut with a mower be it commecial or non commercial.

anonymous_sorry3• 3 years ago

You can use a strimmer or a scythe. Takes a bit longer but you're doing it much less frequently, obviously.

jonnycomputer4• 3 years ago

As someone who has been doing this for a few years in Virginia, which is plenty wet, it's not really bad. I minimize mowing until May (a little earlier this year because its been so warm so early), and the first go of it is tough, but I put the setting on the highest; then I keep it relatively short by June or July. Meaning, its really no big deal.

The real issue, as far as I'm concerned, is what are you letting grow. If you just let it all out, it's not likely that you just have commercial grass growing, but a bunch of weeds. Now I like weeds, myself, but some are less desirable than others, particularly some invasive ones, and neighbors can complain (mine don't). My approach is to selectively weed the lawn (yes, by hand, and it's a half-acre) to try to rid it of the weeds I don't want, and selectively encourage those I do (e.g. in my case, the native fleabane which flowers in May). I do see a difference in the number of insects visiting fleabane compared to non-native weeds. Now, I'm in a rural enclave of an urban area in an environmentally sensitive part of Virginia, so my approach is different than it might be if I were in a California suburb, for example.

b0ner_t0ner• 3 years ago

Depending on where you live, you can plant some flowers that attract dragonflies: https://www.bobvila.com/slideshow/15-plants-that-attract-dra...

aaron695• 3 years ago

With someone immunocompromised on the property long grass and mosquitos are a problem.

We mow heavier around the house because of this, too lazy to do everywhere.

Where we haven't been mowing really bad weeds have taken over. We are poisoning our way through them but it takes time.

Lawns cover 40 million acres, or 2%, of land in the US

This is because they are amazing. They have a lot of mental health benefits with little mental work. You just mow... and immediately see the benefits of your work. Mowing is like the first coat of paint. It's a great example of how people are happier in the moment doing chores than in the moment with their kids.

This theme adds mental work, which is fine if you have it to spare, lawns are great iterative projects.

Scoundreller• 3 years ago

Wouldn’t mosquitoes affect the immunocompromised less?

Daz1• 3 years ago

They're coming for lawns now?

anonymous_sorry3• 3 years ago

Can't believe many people will wanna die on that boring, conformist, monocultured hill.

EngManagerIsMe3• 3 years ago

Lawns have been in the targets of environmentalists for decades.

c22• 3 years ago

I do this just because until mid-late spring the ground here is so wet my lawnmower will get stuck and just make everything look smashed and dirty. I also let it go extra long before my last trim of the season to allow the wildflowers to propagate.

camhart2• 3 years ago

My lawn is 100% for my kids. Schools give kids less and less time to get their energy out. They need areas to play and exhaust themselves more than ever.

Most dog owners use the backyard in a similar fashion.

Though thats only the backyard. Front yard could be rock, plants, flowers, long grass, etc and wouldn't make a difference.

10u152• 3 years ago

Agreed. All these articles are one sided. My backyard lawn is a soft play space that is self repairing, zero carbon (it's not watered or fertilized barring home made compost) and mowed with solar power. We picnic on it and play on it. It also is great at absorbing rainwater runoff, dog byproducts and carbon. Being mown also reduces snakes etc and allows a rich variety of birdlife to eat insects off my lawn. It also reduces ambient temperature in the summer compared with a hard surface and is cool to the touch all year round.

peteradio• 3 years ago

Mow what? The dog shit covered barren earth I call my backyard? I'm hip I'm "with it" I will let the spring time swamp hellscape flourish into a rare summer of blighted jumbo clover vine, mulberry saplings and invasive thistles. Only year after year of record breaking snow and a dog without conscience could smother mother natures step aunt.

sokoloff• 3 years ago

Lawns cover 40 million acres, or 2%, of land in the US, making them the single largest irrigated crop we grow.

That's comparing (an estimate of the) total lawn area to only the irrigated portion of corn (around 17% of the 91 million acres of corn in the US). If less than 40% of lawns are irrigated (which seems entirely plausible), then turfgrass is not the largest irrigated crop by any measure.

Total for total, corn has more. Irrigated for irrigated, lawns have more iff ~39% or more of the total area is irrigated. I doubt that 2/5ths of all lawn area is irrigated, but good statistics on that were not readily findable (and certainly not cited in the article).

TheBigSalad2• 3 years ago

You'd have to think 90% or more of lawns are not irrigated or only occasionally watered by residents. I don't have actual numbers, but irrigation systems are an expensive luxury and not really needed in many parts of the country.

thenerdhead• 3 years ago

Yeah let’s not look at farmers, politicians, or Aggie corporations. Let’s make you feel bad about bees while we give more water to those using majority of the limited resources to begin with.

lukas0993• 3 years ago

Farmers are feeding the world efficiently. And residential yards really do make a difference.

EngManagerIsMe3• 3 years ago

One, we can do both.

Two, lawns are the biggest agricultural crop in the US. Especially when you consider sod and seed.

Lawns are basically wastelands, supporting little to no biodiversity. Removing them does material good to the surrounding area.

nakedrobot22• 3 years ago

same as recycling. it makes me sick. no one with power gives a fuck and then someone has the idea that we should blame individuals for cutting their own grass?

simonsarris2• 3 years ago

I mow just a few times a year, mostly just cutting paths and leaving big sections of taller grasses. Some examples:

https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1629638819954786305

https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1651949172931674112

The fields naturally have lots of clover, black eyed susans, milkweed, and daisies. I've also planted a lot of my own flowers.

You can still have parts cut low, and if you leave the rest taller even the low part seems to resist drought better.

I used to mow ~3 acres with just a gas push (self-propelled) mower. Now I have the "modest" X330. You don't need a big machine to do this. Though you do have to go slow when you cut at the end of the year around October.

TheBigSalad2• 3 years ago

It almost sounds like you are bragging about being environmentally friendly. I think most people with a yard that big would just mow a lawn for their needs and let most it ]grow in with trees or whatever comes up. For the record, I have no problem with what you are doing and I think it looks cool.

simonsarris2• 3 years ago

The intent isn't to brag but to show that something nice-looking and achievable outside the norm is possible. I think a lot of people want the feel of open space, so they go for a manicured lawn. In other words their desires are largely aesthetic. I think if you try to keep things field-like, its lower-effort for (IMO) a better aesthetic. It also seems to be environmentally better, but you don't even need that argument.

tadfisher• 3 years ago

I'd be bragging, that property looks fantastic.

Diederich• 3 years ago

I didn't get even a small sense of bragging from the above comment, and I'm actually quite glad it was posted, especially the pictures. It's good to see other people doing something similar to what we're trying to do with our ~1ac of grass.

efields• 3 years ago

I love what you’ve done! We have less property but made and planted lots of beds with a flower/native/perennial slant. We still have lawn in the areas that are sometimes for play. We also have less clear “paths,” but they’re becoming evident the more we do outside. Thinking in terms of paths is where I’d encourage folks to start. If short grass is meant for easy access/play, observe which stretches of grass really get used for that. The rest could simply be left to go wild.

thomasfromcdnjs• 3 years ago

I will never understand lawn culture. It doesn't make any sense to me what so ever. (Grew up rural Australia)

baerrie• 3 years ago

I didn’t mow once last year. I do weed out non native weeds but I keep most of the weeds that I find pleasing.

EngManagerIsMe3• 3 years ago

Killing your lawn is the best thing you can do. There are SO much better things to do with the space than host a lawn (which is effectively a desert).

If you need something green to walk on there are plenty of herbal/clover mixes that produce flowers for insect life. Alternatively you can build raised beds and plant flowers and vegetables. Or native wildflowers. Or trees.

Getting rid of my lawn was the best decision I've made w.r.t. to my land.

robohoe• 3 years ago

Yeah that’s gonna be a no from me dawg. In spring grasses get so long and thick my rescued dogs won’t have anywhere to poop or play in.

randerson• 3 years ago

After letting grass grow long, mowing it short can cause Lawn Shock where the grass goes brown and can even die. Grass stores its nutrients in the blades so you shouldn't take off more than an inch or two at a time. Unfortunately most lawnmowers can't do this with really long grass, or I'd let my lawn grow more often.

No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

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